The New York Botanical Garden hosted the Conservatory Ball, celebrating its summer exhibition, Wonderland: Curious Nature, a whimsical and botanical experience inspired by the classic story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. The garden-wide exhibition, which runs through October 27, features a magnificent flower show, contemporary art installations, engaging daytime programming, fantastical tea parties, and exciting night experiences for the curious and adventuresome at heart. The Conservatory Ball evening, sponsored by Oscar de la Renta, De Beers Jewellers, The Bancorp LLC, Bartlett Tree Experts and Hearst supports the Botanical Garden’s preeminent botanical research, horticulture, and children’s education programs.
The black-tie affair kicked off with a lively cocktail hour as guests experienced thousands of vibrant flowers that filled the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory with Victorian garden displays, transporting them to the era of Alice in 19th-century England. On the Conservatory Lawn guests meandered through the topiary garden—a Victorian favorite—with Shrumen Lumen, kinetic mushroom sculptures by FoldHaus Art Collective, that dazzled audiences at the Burning Man festival and around the world, changing size at random and allowing everyone to experience the natural world from a fantastical point of view. Following cocktails, guests were ushered into the Conservatory Tent for a sit-down dinner and dancing, with music by DJ Runna.
This year’s attendees included Honorees William D. and Fleur Rueckert and Lead Chairs Maureen K. and Richard L. Chilton, Jr. as well as Chairs, Sasha and Edward Bass, Friederike K. Biggs, J. Barclay Collins II and Kristina Durr, Ravenel Curry and Jane Moss, Sharon and Bill Jacob, Jill Joyce, Bethany and Robert B. Millard, Janet M. Montag, and Deborah and Charles Royce. This year’s vice-chairs were Bosilika An, Hope Chilton, Cecilia Jacob, Stella Jacob, Kerry Joyce, Holly Lowen, Gillian and Sylvester Miniter and Arielle Patrick. They were joined by other New York notables, including Tina Leung, Sai De Silva, Dennis Basso, Muffie Potter Aston, Jennifer Creel, Sophie Elgort, Peter Som, Jessica Wang, Sophie Sumner, Michael Ward and Manel Garcia-Espejo, Marcus Teo, Eric Rutherford, Jessel Taank and Isolde Brielmaier, along with Eliza Reed Bolen and Oscar de la Renta Co-Creative Directors Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia.
In celebration of the evening, diamond jewelry creations from the famed jewelry house, De Beers Jewellers, graced a number of the evening’s guests, including Tina Leung, Jessica Wang, Sophie Elgort, Sai De Silva, Jessel Taank, Laura Kim, Sharon Jacob, Holly Lowen and Ashley McDermott.
Major Support for Wonderland: Curious Nature is provided by: Oscar de la Renta, Delta
Wonderland: Curious Nature is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Generous support: Wolf Kahn Foundation and the Emily Mason | Alice Trumbull Mason Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts
Additional support: The William Talbot Hillman Foundation
Exhibitions in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory are made possible by the Estate of Enid A. Haupt.
Image credit: Jason Lowrie, Yvonne Tnt, and Miguel McSongwe/BFA
